NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. fighter pilot who accidentally dropped a bomb on Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan two years ago, killing four of them, has been found guilty of dereliction of duty by the U.S air force.

Major Harry Schmidt will receive a written reprimand and have to forfeit $5,600 US in pay.

It's not so much the punishment that bothers me. You're right, this sort of thing does happen in war, and I'm sure that the pilot had no intent to harm the Canadians.

I just feel unsettled about how the whole situation was handled by the US military and the US government. From my understanding, it was handled completely internally and no input was recieved nor asked for from the international community. It would have been more satisfying to me if a Canadian representative were present in the investigation process as well as in the group that handed down this judgement. I don't think this was the case, but I could be wrong ...

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jgruber

If I'm not mistaken, Afghanistan is a NATO operation. It would seem reasonable to expect NATO to handle the case, but the US is strongly opposed to any court other than US courts trying US service members.

International political calculations have nothing to do with an individual's guilt or innocence. It is the trial of a servicemember, not the nation. Even his detractors admit it was the unintentional actions of one man; if that is stipulated, it is patently unjust to levy a heavier sentence or conduct a trial in a foreign court because of international relations or geopolitics.

My point wasn't that the trial should have been held outside of the US, nor that the outcome of the trial should have been dependant upon international politics. I was just trying to say that the investigation of the incident, or any investigation, should be non-biased. As a Canadian citizen, I would feel more inclined to believe that the investigation was non-biased if a Canada had a representitive present in the investigation process. I'm not saying that this representitive should push for a heavier sentence, or a lighter one for that matter. Just be present so that all parties involved can feel content that the investigation was sufficiently thorough and fair.